Chapter 3
“I’ll take my leave. Please, continue your conversation.”
“……”
Silence lingered in the room until ladis, the aide, fully exited.
“Were you… very surprised?”
After about three seconds of eye contact, it was Michalis who spoke first.
“Pardon?”
Eliana blinked innocently, feigning complete ignorance.
“My father passed away a month and a half ago.”
“What do you mean…?”
It would be odd for her to know this “classified” information. Eliana did her best to put on an anxious and uncertain expression.
“I am now the head of the House of Ascher.”
Watching her carefully, Michalis spoke slowly.
“My father’s death was a military secret. I apologize for not informing you in advance.”
His tone was polite, yet distant—devoid of any unnecessary words or warmth.
The Ascher Dukedom, located at the southernmost tip of the continent, traditionally held the title of Admiral of the Southern Navy in the Wespera Empire. They bore the burden of guarding against threats from the eastern island nation of Jaiphen and the southern Kantoor Kingdom.
“I understand.”
Eliana responded calmly.
In truth, she had already learned of his father’s death through the search function, but such sensitive information would have been known only to the Emperor, a few high-ranking nobles, and the Duke’s closest confidants.
“Are you well? I was told… something unfortunate happened on your way here.”
At last, Michalis took a sip of his chilled tea and shifted the conversation to the main issue.
“Yes… I’m alright now. I apologize for causing trouble.”
It was the original Eliana who had taken poison, but now that she inhabited this body, it was her responsibility to apologize.
“You needn’t apologize. The fault lies with us for allowing such a misunderstanding. It is not yours to bear.”
No one knew better than Michalis what his father was like—and how the world viewed him.
‘Of course she thought marriage would be a nightmare.’
His brow furrowed slightly. Any ordinary noblewoman would have broken down under such circumstances.
“May I ask… Was the marriage proposal meant for you from the beginning, Your Grace?”
Eliana carefully raised the question that had plagued her throughout the journey.
From what she remembered, the proposal delivered to the Acklera barony bore only the Ascher family crest and the title “Duke of Ascher”—not the name “Theopha Ascher”, the late Duke.
Why send a proposal to a nameless, penniless northern barony? And why rush the marriage, asking for no dowry?
It had to be the work of the old Duke, making Eliana assume she’d be his eighth wife.
“Yes. The proposal was mine from the start.”
Michalis answered without hesitation. It wasn’t his idea, but the truth remained.
“I see…”
‘What a pointless death…’
She was meant to marry the young Duke, but because of a simple misunderstanding, the original Eliana had taken her own life. It was a cruel fate for a mere extra who didn’t even get mentioned in the novel.
“Lady Acklera, if you do not wish to proceed, we can cancel this marriage.”
“…What?”
What was this now?
Eliana, who had just begun to relax—thinking he seemed better than expected—was caught completely off guard by Michalis’s words.
“This was a one-sidedly arranged marriage.”
Michalis continued evenly.
“Now that I am the head of the family, there is no need to forcibly uphold this engagement.”
It had been his father’s final whim—something Michalis never agreed to.
Despite his protests, the engagement had been secretly arranged behind his back. He wasn’t about to bow to his father’s manipulation.
‘It’s not like I was being forced into this…’
Caught off guard, Eliana felt her stomach twist.
‘Wait, is he really breaking off the engagement now—after calling me all the way here?’
Was he trying to stay single to keep the novel’s “unmarried until the heroine appears” setup intact?
She’d endured that portal-induced nausea just to be dumped now? Eliana felt stubbornness rising.
“How surprising. I didn’t realize the House of Ascher treats its seal so lightly.”
“I’ll take full responsibility for the disgrace.”
“……”
His firm, unwavering tone left Eliana speechless.
He was willing to damage his family’s honor just to cancel the marriage?
‘What is happening? Did I underestimate this?’
Her palms grew clammy with sweat.
“If you wish to annul the engagement, now is the time. I will handle it as my own decision, and we will not reclaim any of the wedding gifts sent to your house.”
Even Eliana could tell—the value of those gifts was extravagant, far more than needed to compensate a broken engagement.
It was a profitable deal—from a business standpoint.
“No, Your Grace.”
Eliana clenched the hem of her dress with damp fingers.
It might be a good deal for the barony, but that logic only applied to the original Eliana.
“I refuse to break off the engagement.”
Now was the time for resolve.
Eliana took a deep breath and declared,
“I will marry you, Your Grace.”
“Pardon?”
Eliana’s clear, unwavering response caused a subtle shift in Michalis’s otherwise expressionless eyes.
This was the same woman who had been so desperate to avoid marriage, she had drunk poison. Even if her intended husband was him, not his father, being given the option to back out—especially after receiving a generous bridal gift—should have made her relieved, not resolute.
“This is the House of Ascher. Are you not afraid?”
The Ascher Dukedom was infamous—a family where duchesses died young, generation after generation.
Like father, like son. The vicious appetites of the former Duke were widely believed to have been passed down to his heir.
“Why should I be afraid?”
Eliana’s response was simple and firm. This wasn’t some cursed, monstrous dukedom from a fantasy novel. No ancient maledictions or supernatural horrors—just a case of being the son of a pervert.
‘So what? My grandfather was a pervert, and my father was a pervert. That’s not on me,’ she thought.
It wasn’t Michalis’s fault, and Eliana saw no reason to be terrified by mere assumption.
‘I don’t even know what I’m going to become. Why fear him?’
“……”
Michalis fell silent, studying her carefully.
‘Is she fearless, or just naïve?’
She looked so small, young, and delicate—as though she might melt away like a snowflake.
And yet, her emerald eyes sparkled with an unshakable vitality—full of life, conviction.
“This life here… It’s not as romantic as you might imagine.”
Michalis felt the need to be firmer.
She was too young to understand. Sending her back before regret set in seemed the only humane choice.
“But I like it here.”
Eliana answered truthfully.
She loved the scenery, and maybe it was because of that impossibly handsome face, but she didn’t dislike the Duke at all—even if he was refusing to marry her.
“Your Grace, I have no intention of returning north.”
More than anything, she feared the Acklera barony, the family that had sold her to the old Duke.
If she returned unmarried?
Her family, now flush with bridal gifts, would likely find another buyer for their daughter without hesitation.
A profitable deal for them—another sale for her.
She wasn’t taking that risk again.
“This place may seem peaceful, but conflict erupts from time to time. It’s far more dangerous than it appears.”
Michalis’s face hardened, warning her.
She likely didn’t realize, but this region was a strategic point, bordering the Empire, the Jaiphen Kingdom, and the Kantoor Kingdom. Naval skirmishes were common here.
“Yes, but the Ascher Dukedom commands the Empire’s finest naval force. The last time enemy forces set foot on this land was 32 years ago, wasn’t it?”
‘So now he’s trying to scare me since money didn’t work?’
Eliana calmly countered with facts, drawn from her prior research.
“That defeat caused the Jaiphen Kingdom’s internal split—they’re too busy with civil war. Kantoor’s military? Well… they’re a threat, but their inferior navigation skills make an invasion unlikely.”
Though the novel hadn’t covered such details, her pre-arrival research had paid off.
“…That’s true.”
Fear tactics wouldn’t work. Michalis realized he’d have to try something else. Eliana’s confidence didn’t falter.
“You’re not my type.”
Let’s see if that would scare her off. He braced for her to storm out.
“Oh, really? Well, Your Grace… you’re not mine either.”
Even as someone who appreciated good looks, Eliana had her preferences.
Yes, the Duke was devastatingly handsome, but her type wasn’t this brooding, decadent beauty.
She preferred the gentle, warm-hearted Crown Prince—the novel’s male lead.
In short: Team “Healing Male” over “Mysterious Seductive Duke.”
“Lady Acklera, I’ll be honest. I have no interest in married life.”
Michalis flinched slightly but continued unfazed.
The cycle of depravity needed to end with him. His choice? Celibacy.
“I never will. If we marry, you’ll only find unhappiness.”
Should they proceed, she would suffer—a wife in name only, neglected and left to fade.
‘I didn’t expect to reveal this much…’
This situation was spinning out of control, and Michalis felt uneasy.
“Oh, that’s wonderful!”
“…What’s wonderful about it?”
“That’s my dream, actually—a loveless marriage.”
For Eliana, this world was one she’d leave the moment the system recovered.
A disinterested husband was ideal.
“I think we’re a perfect match.”
With a bright smile, Eliana’s mood visibly lifted—the opposite of what Michalis had hoped.
‘Did she just say we?’
The word struck him like a malfunction. His thoughts came to a halt.
“What… what are you saying?”
“Let’s get married, Your Grace.”
Michalis Ascher, 27. Never dated.
Proposal: Accepted.
